


No Rest For The Weary

by loki_of_jotunheim



Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz
Genre: AR Febuwhump (Alex Rider), FebuWhump2021, Gen, Major Character Injury, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29282202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loki_of_jotunheim/pseuds/loki_of_jotunheim
Summary: Prompt: "Hey, hey, this is no time to sleep."For Febuwhump 2021, Day 8. Alex starts a summer internship. What could possibly go wrong?(It is literally 12:55 when I am posting this. I will post more when I get home from classes tomorrow. It will all be uploaded by the end of the day EST).
Relationships: Alex Rider & Jack Starbright
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30
Collections: AR Febuwhump 2021





	1. Chapter 1: The Begining

The summer was upon Alex, and he had nothing to do for a few months. He honestly wasn’t sure what to do with the time anymore. He was still half expecting Crawley to pop out from around a corner any moment, but it had yet to happen. 

It was on the back of his mind the last week of school, and he mentioned it briefly to Jack one morning as he packed his things for the school day. 

“You could get an internship.” She suggested, handing him a pencil that had dropped under the chair. He added it to his bag. “I did that in the summer a couple of times. I’d suggest paid, but unpaid isn’t entirely useless.” 

“Internship?” Alex thought about it. It wasn’t a horrible idea. It added experience to his future prospects and might help him have a way out of working for MI6. “What kind of internships are there?” 

“A lot of different kinds.” Jack answered. “I think I saw an advertisement for one at the store yesterday. I’ll see if I can find it again?” 

“Sure.” Alex agreed. 

The potential internship was on the forefront of Alex’s mind as he walked back into their house and into the kitchen. Jack was there, grabbing a soda and reading through some papers as he entered. 

“Hey, Jack.” Alex greeted. 

“Hey, Alex.” Jack replied. “How was your day?” 

“It was good.” Alex smiled. “No more homework for the year.” 

“I bet you’re excited about that.” Jack grinned. “I know I am.” 

“I am.” Alex agreed. “Did you find anything about the internship?” 

“I did, actually - here.” Jack handed him a packet of paper. “There’s a couple, but this is the one that I was able to get today.” 

“Sales and investing internship….” Alex read through the files. “Twenty pounds an hour?!” 

“I thought you might like that.” 

“Apply online…I’ll be right back.” Jack didn’t bother to hide her smile as Alex all but sprinted out. His grades were fine, and he met the requirements for applying. 

Of course, he had to get accepted first, but it was worth a shot. The application took about half an hour and Alex hit  _ submit _ , excitement thrumming through his veins. 

A paid internship! Alex was looking forwards to it, that is, if he got it. 

It didn’t take long before Alex had a call about the internship. It was brief, a request for an interview for the next morning. Alex agreed and frantically searched through his closet for something nicer to wear. He ignored the suit - the last time he’d worn that was Ian’s funeral. 

An outfit from the whole Scorpia debacle caught his eye. It was a nice pair of slacks and a shirt and he held it up for inspection in the mirror.

It would do. Alex set it aside and went to bed. Tomorrow was a big day.

“So you’re Alex Rider.” Lenny Coleman, billionaire and hedge fund manager, said, looking over Alex’s file. “Pleasure to meet you. What are you hoping to get from this?”

“Experience, sir.” Alex said, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to be polite. For a billionaire, this one seemed decent. He wasn’t trying to kill Alex, at least. It was a low bar. 

“Experience.” Coleman nodded. “Well, that I can give you. You attend Brookland, correct?” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Excellent.” Coleman noted something down. “Well, I have another interview today, but I should have an answer for you by tonight. Thanks for agreeing to stop by.” 

“That’s all?” Alex couldn’t quite hide his surprise. Coleman smiled. 

“I have an untraditional hiring method.” He answered. “You remember the way out?” 

“Yes, sir.” Alex said, standing. The two shook hands. “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” Coleman said, and that was that. Alex left, still mildly surprised it had been that quick. 

Well, one way or another, he would find out tonight. 

Alex hung up the phone with a stunned excitement. He’d gotten the internship! Jack declared the two of them celebrate, and so Alex and Jack found themselves at a takeout place, wolfing down a small dinner. 

“You start tomorrow, right?” Jack asked as she finished off her plate. “What time again?” 

“9 am at his house. Apparently I can dress casually.” Alex took another bite. “He’s a bit eccentric, truth be told. But at least he’s not trying to kill me.” 

“At least there’s that.” Jack agreed. “20 pounds an hour! You’ll have enough for a new bike by the end of all this.” 

“Probably by the end of the week.” Alex agreed, grinning at the prospect. “Or maybe a car.” 

“Don’t get too far ahead of yourself now.” Jack faux-admonished. “Maybe at the end of this whole thing. You’re almost old enough to get your learners soon.” 

“Yeah.” Alex had finished his food. “That’s a thought.” 15. That was definitely a milestone he wasn’t sure he’d make at some points in the past few years. 

“Welcome back, Alex.” Coleman said, holding out his hand for Alex to shake. “Congratulations on the internship. Why don’t we get started?”

“Thank you.” Alex replied, “That’d be great.” He followed Coleman down the hall to a door that revealed itself to be an office. A smaller desk was just to the side. 

“That’ll be yours while you’re here.” Coleman said. “This is the office I’ll be in most of the day during trading hours, and you as well. I mentioned previously your hours being 9 to 5. Trading starts a half hour after and ends a half hour before then mostly, but there is aftermarket and pre-market. Are you familiar with the stock market at all?” 

“Some.” Alex answered. “My uncle was a banker and he told me a little before he died.” 

“The Royal and General right?” Coleman sat down at his desk. Alex hovered for a moment before walking over to “his”. With a brief glance at the billionaire for permission, he sat down. It was a ridiculously comfortable desk. 

“Yeah.” Alex answered. 

“Very reputable bank indeed.” Coleman nodded. “So, tell me what you know about stocks?” 


	2. Chapter 2: Sleep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tags for the fic will be updated accordingly as this is posted.

An hour later, Alex was incredibly busy, but he found he really didn’t mind it. It needed his full attention and it definitely was useful information to know. He briefly had a moment to wonder what it would have been like if Ian (and his dad) had really been bankers, and then he shook his head. He couldn’t change the past, and worrying about it had caused him multitudes of problems in the past. 

Around noon, they both took a break for lunch and Alex was surprised at how quickly time had flown by - and by how hungry he was. Coleman chuckled lightly watching Alex scarf down the meal. 

“Everyone’s like this their first day.” He commented. “How’s the food?”

“Really good.” Alex said after he’d swallowed. “Thanks for buying it.” 

“You’re my employee.” Coleman shrugged, and opened his mouth as if he was going to say more, but his phone rang. He glanced at the screen. “I apologize, I have to take this.” 

“Sure.” Alex agreed, sitting back and watching the man walk a few meters away from the table. He finished the last bits of food on his plate and took a few sips of his Coke while he waited. Coleman returned shortly after and the two set back to work.

“So how was your first day?” Jack asked, as Alex set his things down and sprawled on the couch. 

“Busy.” Alex answered immediately. “But fun. I learned a lot.” 

“I’m glad.” Jack smiled. “I probably won’t understand half of it, though. Have you eaten?” 

“We ate lunch, yeah.” Alex said. “It was kind of fancy. And expensive.” 

“I’m not surprised. He probably didn’t notice the price. Are you hungry?” 

“Yes.” Alex said immediately. He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until his stomach let out a small growl. Jack laughed at the sound and the two went into the kitchen to get some food. Alex had barely sat down when the doorbell rang and he went to get it. 

He almost shut the door in Crawley’s face as soon as he realized it was him. The spy ignored his visible reaction and smiled. 

“Alex! Do you mind if I come in?” 

“Do I have a choice?” Alex sighed. “Jack! Someone from the bank is here.” 

Jack appeared in the hallway, arms crossed and a scowl firmly on her face. “They can leave now. They said they’d leave you alone, and that’s what they’ll do.” 

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” Crawley said apologetically. “I can assure you that I won’t be taking him anywhere.” 

“That’s not as reassuring as you would think.” Jack muttered, but glanced at Alex to let him know to let the spy in. They ended up back in the kitchen, where Crawley perched semi-awkwardly on one of the stools, while Alex slouched in another at the opposite end. (Maybe it was a little petty, Alex didn’t much care. He deserved a little bit of pettiness.) 

“What do you want?” Alex finally asked. “I’m not agreeing to anything yet.” 

“You won’t be agreeing to anything at all.” Jack added, giving a death glare to the adult spy, “He’s not doing anything for you.” 

“Your internship.” Crawley said, and Alex dropped his head into his arms. Couldn’t anything in his life be free of MI6? “You’re in the perfect spot to get us information -  _ just _ that. We don’t even need you to do anything. You just need to send us a report each day on what kind of things your boss - Coleman - is doing. We suspect he’s engaging in insider trading, and not just that, but in ways extremely detrimental to national security.” 

“You’ve said that before, and I ended up shooting at the prime minister.” Alex pointed out. “Amongst other similar results. Can’t you get your computer people to hack his stuff or something?” 

“Unfortunately, our attempts at a warrant have been unsuccessful.” Crawley grimaced. “We suspect he’s had a hand in that. You’re in the perfect spot, and there’s no connection to us at all - there’s no suspicion on you.” 

“You could have sent an intern.” Alex muttered. 

“They could have, yes. And isn’t he still looking?” Jack added.

“For a few months away.” Crawley admitted. “We need someone sooner.” 

“I could get fired.” Alex suggested half-heartedly, but he knew he wasn’t going to do that. Jack knew it too, guessing by the look on her face, and Alex sighed. Yet again, he had no choice. They all knew it. “What does report back mean?” 

“Alex, you don’t have to do this.” Jack protested quietly. 

“They’ll make me, one way or another,” Alex said bitterly. “At least this way I get paid.” 

In the end, the reports were quick, and Alex seriously doubted he was actually helping at all. He couldn’t spot anything, that was for sure. Three weeks went by without anything popping up, and Alex went about the internship as he had before. 

Mid-week, the two were at lunch again. It was a small restaurant, a good ways away from the city, as a treat for the past few weeks, Coleman had said. It was a sunny day, and the food was nice - and still expensive. Alex was going to miss it. He would also miss the slow stream of money slowly building up into his bank account. Even with MI6’s shadow over it, Alex was enjoying the internship. 

Alex had just finished his sandwich and was about to reach for his drink when Coleman looked up, his eyes widened with alarm, and he yanked Alex in front of him with a shout. Alex had no time to react to the turn of events - or to be aware much longer after. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go. I promised whump, didn't I?


	3. Chapter 3: Dreams

What Coleman had spotted was the flash of a scope, at an unfortunate angle on the hill less than 500 feet from the two of them. The sniper in question was already packing up, but not to leave - he was going down to the target. 

Alex was not the target.

The sniper hadn’t even known he would be there. His steps were quick, almost dance-like as he made his way quickly to the table where Coleman was laying against the wall. He’d been shot, but it wasn’t anywhere near fatal unless he never had any sort of treatment for it. Incredibly unfortunate and very easily remedied. 

That wasn’t the sniper’s focus at the moment. The trader wasn’t going anywhere, especially not after he’d been tied up, and the blonde man knelt next to the teenager, who was lying across the ground, eyes closed. His chest rose and fell and the man relaxed from tension he hadn’t realized he was holding. 

Hunter would find a way back from the afterlife to kill him if Cossack killed his kid  _ accidentally _ . He doubted he’d be able to live with himself, even then. 

Yassen quickly applied some bandages and cleaned the wound as best as he could before turning to give Coleman a frigid, unyielding look. The man didn’t even have time to speak before Yassen had finished his contracted job and turned back to Alex, who was still asleep. The bandages had done a good enough job at stopping the bleeding, and Yassen had been incredibly relieved to find the bullet had missed most major issue spots - right now, the main concern was blood loss and Alex not getting help.

Coleman’s driver wouldn’t be back for another hour, and the location was remote enough to where walking or getting another ride wasn’t feasible. Damn the man. It had been useful earlier, but Yassen hadn’t expected him to use the teenager he was with as a human shield. 

MI6 had screwed up, majorly. Yassen knew it, they would know it, and hopefully they would never step foot in Alex's life again if Yassen had anything to say about it. 

“Well, this is a mess of colossal proportions.” A voice said from behind him, and Yassen spun around and raised the gun that had been at his hip a moment earlier, only to freeze when he saw the spectre staring back at him. “Hello, Cossack.” 

“Hunter.” Yassen barely spoke, feeling as if he were 18 again, watching Hunter in the house with the policeman. He lowered the gun, even though it would have been useless against a ghost anyways. “Am I dead?” 

“Not yet.” John raised an eyebrow. “Jack might kill you when she finds out though.” 

“Jack Starbright.” Yassen repeated. 

“I think she could do it.” John shrugged. “But no, you’re not dead. Alex is not dead, but he will be soon if he doesn’t get help.” 

“I know that.” Yassen said, unsure as to why John was reminding him. He was the one who had shot the teenager. 

“Not just that.” John said, as if he could read Yassen’s thoughts. He might even have been able to. “There’s a small force on their way to clean this up. Not MI6 - it’s Coleman’s partners. MI6 severely underestimated how much of a threat he was.” 

“It seems they did a lot of that.” Yassen agreed darkly. The two shared a look. “Where are their forces?” 

“About half an hour out.” John informed him. Yassen almost swore aloud. They needed a vehicle, _now_. Walking wasn’t fast enough _without_ a severely injured teenager to carry. 

Another set of footsteps approached and Ben Daniels held up his hands as he came to a stop. Yassen lowered the gun briefly after giving him a wary glance. Ben Daniels was MI6, and from what Yassen understood, somewhat fond of Alex. 

“What the hell happened?” Ben demanded, examining Alex. 

“Coleman used him as a shield.” Yassen explained shortly. “It was too late at that point.” 

“Too late.” Ben repeated, fury clear. “How’d you miss, then?” 

“I don’t know,” Yassen admitted. “Whatever the reason, Alex is alive. We need to get him to a hospital and apparently Coleman has…” 

“Enemies.” John supplied. 

“Enemies on the way.” Yassen finished.

“How’d you know that?” Ben said suspiciously. “I just found out.”

“I told him.” John said, and Ben visibly jumped. Yassen was slightly mollified to see his reaction was similar to Yassen's. “You have a car. You need to get Alex out of here. They’ll be here in 20 minutes.” 

“Who are you?” Ben demanded. 

“John Rider.” John answered. “Some knew me as Hunter.” 

“Am I dead?” Ben asked, an echo of Yassen. 

“No. It’s a rare circumstance, but it's necessary for Alex to survive.” John paused and looked down the direction of the road. “You need to leave  _ now _ .” 

“Is he stable to move?” Ben asked. 

“Not really.” John admitted. “But he  _ will _ die if you stay.” 

“Let’s go.” Yassen said tersely, gently picking Alex up and looking around for Ben’s car. “Where’s your transportation?” 

“Around back.” Ben answered, leading Yassen to a small SUV. Yassen laid one of the seats in the back down and laid Alex down before climbing in as well. Ben started the car, and Yassen found it a little amusing that John sat in the passenger seat like he would if he were still alive. 

“Is this as fast as it can go?” Yassen demanded as the speedometer didn’t get much above 130 kph. 

“I’m trying to not jostle the kid.” Ben bit back. 

“Speed up. It won’t make it worse.” Yassen ordered, and returned his attention to Alex. John was watching the road, and occasionally a flicker of tension would be clear. 

“There’s the reinforcements.” John said a few minutes later. Yassen watched them fly past in the window, and hoped they’d just ignore the car that had sped past at 170. It almost appeared they had, but his hopes were dashed as one car whipped around and started speeding towards them. 

“They swung back around.” Ben reported tensely. “They might not be able to catch up.” 

“They won’t be.” Yassen promised, and waited. The lead car got close enough and he fired, sending the car careening off the road. The car behind sped up and Yassen took aim again. The second went down like the first, but the third driver was unfortunately smarter. He weaved and Yassen had to take a good few seconds more before he was able to get that car out of commission. 

“They’re down.” Yassen told Ben, and returned his attention to Alex, who appeared mostly the same. Yassen watched his chest rise and fall once and was quietly relieved at the motion. 

Except it didn’t repeat. Yassen audibly swore and checked the teenager's pulse. Faint, very thready but there. It wouldn’t be for long, though, and if Ben was alarmed by the harshness in Yassen’s voice as he ordered the man to go faster yet again, he didn’t show it. The car lurched and Yassen steadied himself as he tried to get Alex breathing again. It was a good few minutes before he finally took another breath, John watching in worry as well, but Yassen’s shoulders dropped in relief as he saw the telltale rise. 

Alex’s eyelids flickered and he glanced up briefly at Yassen, recognition showing. 

“Yassen?” He murmured. “Am I dead too?” 

“No.” Yassen said firmly. (He’d die before he admitted the desperation that was clear.). “You’re not going to be.” 

“Yassen’s right.” John added, and Yassen gave the man an incredulous stare. That was the worst possible way he could think of to convince the teenager he  _ wasn’t  _ dead. 

“Dad?” Alex said, almost trying to sit up. Yassen didn’t let him, well aware that would cause bleeding Alex could  _ not _ afford. John appeared next to Yassen, vanishing from the front seat as if he’d never been there in the first place, and Yassen resisted the impulse to jump. 

“Hello, Alex.” John said softly. “You’re not dead. I’m...well, the closest word is ghost. Special circumstances.” 

“Special circumstances.” Alex repeated faintly. He was tiring quickly, that was clear. 

“Turns out that MI6 not leaving you alone like they promised are shit motivators for continual existence, huh?” John said quietly, a fond smile on his face. “Well, if Yassen or Ben has anything to say about it, they  _ will _ be. And _I_ want you to get to be an adult.” 

“I miss you.” Alex said quietly, sounding very, very young. 

“I know.” John said. Alex had almost passed out again when John spoke again. “We love you, your mom and I. Make us proud and survive. And that doesn’t mean MI6, even. We’re proud of you whatever you do.” 

Alex had passed out again, but Yassen somehow knew that he’d heard what John had said. John glanced over at Yassen. 

“Keep him safe.” John asked Yassen. He was about as vulnerable as Yassen had ever seen Hunter. “Whatever that takes.” 

“I’ll keep him safe.” Yassen promised. 

The car came to a screeching halt, and Yassen braced Alex and himself. He hadn’t even realized they’d arrived at the hospital, but there was a stretcher waiting and he quickly told the doctor what Alex’s injuries were before he, Ben and John were left standing in the empty hallway. 


	4. Chapter 4: Epilogue

Mrs. Jones and Alan Blunt arrived very shortly after, and Yassen met them halfway across their trek down the hallway. Ben stood next to him, staring daggers at his bosses. 

Ben had needed to go take a walk outside after he had learned what Yassen had been told, what Yassen had not, and who had hired him. Yassen had managed to get himself back to his normal level of composure by then, but it was threatened again when he’d learned the full extent of MI6’s involvement in Alex’s life (and what Yassen had done to make it worse. He would never forgive himself for that. He had refused to accept John’s offer of forgiveness, and the man had  _ finally _ given up after a solid 15 minutes.) 

“You don’t get to see him,” Ben said, barely containing his fury. “You’re clearly a danger to him right now. If you go anywhere near him again, I can promise you you will regret it.” Alan Blunt didn’t react visibly besides a small crease in his eyebrow appearing. Mrs. Jones opened her mouth to speak, but Ben beat her to it. “I quit, effective immediately.”

“I also end any future possibilities of contract work for you.” Yassen added. “You knew exactly what you were doing, and the only reason I am letting you live is that the chances of it hurting Alex in some way are far too high to risk.” 

“We didn’t tell you because the possibility of something like this happening was not something we were willing to risk.” Blunt finally spoke. “Unfortunately, it seems we misjudged.” 

“Misjudged.” Yassen repeated. His voice was ice cold. “Ensure it does not happen again. Stay away from Alex Rider and Jack Starbright.” 

John chose that moment to reappear, in between the two opposing pairs. He was every inch the predator Yassen remembered from when he was 18, and Mrs. Jones didn’t need any further explanation before she turned around and headed back to the car. Alan Blunt appeared as if he were going to speak, but John spoke first. 

“Get out.” Hunter said to the head of MI6, and the Head of MI6, for once, left. 

Jack arrived slightly later, frantic and promising hellfire on MI6, and Yassen and Ben led her to Alex’s room, where the teenager was miraculously recovering. He’d had an incredibly thin chance of making it without any long-term damage, but somehow yet again the teen had managed to defeat the odds. John was gone by the time Jack arrived, and the three remaining settled in to wait for Alex to wake up. 

“How did all of this start with a summer internship?” Jack sighed. Yassen and Ben shook their heads. They had no idea either. 

For now, Alex was safe, and he was going to be okay. That was enough for the three of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end. It's not quite stated, but Alex will wake up (I couldn't kill him this time). The quote for the fic wasn't used but for inspiration, and I would not have written this without Hellacious's help. It wouldn't have even *started* without their help, so thank you so freaking much Hella.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this was inspired by the recent stock thing, lol. 
> 
> Again, I will have everything published tommorow and very whumpy by the end of it. I promise. It's just midnight and I am absolutely exausted. (edit: huh. its already the 8th. It will be published by the end of the 8th EST).


End file.
